Beware of grazing
animals
Cambridge 0 Burnley 1, 19 October 1999
Firmo
As we sipped a good pint of beer in a pub playing light jazz music, we perused a
copy of the local rag. In the wake of their 5-2 victory over hapless Colchester, Cambridge
boss Roy McFarland was bullish. Burnley have a strong defensive record, he said, but they
have yet to face our attack.
Cut to approx. 9.35. Attack faced. Points
gained. Mission accomplished.
It hadn’t looked so promising earlier. We
had arrived at the ground stupendously early (our cab let us down - it turned up on time)
and headed across the field towards the away end, taking due if noisy care to beware of
the grazing animals, as the sign on the gate advised. There we met Holdo, who turned out
to be the bearer of what looked like bad news. Payton was out. Branch was in. I briefly
considered the option of saving the cash and splitting to sink some pints, but we were
here now and besides, the Cambridge beer scene is dominated by Greene King, perhaps the
worst of the regional brewers. So in we went, and grabbed the plum spot right behind the
goal on the Allotment End.
It was from there about five minutes later that
we watched Cooke score. Almost needless to say, the goal was at the other end, so I am
unable to describe it adequately. Burnley have, I notice, shown a marked reluctance this
season to score where we can see them. The ball broke to Cooke in the box after Cambridge
failed to clear, and from close range he stuck it home in a matter of fact way.
Celebrations were followed by the realisation
that, if past form was a guide, we were now going to defend for an awfully long time. Had
we scored too early?
As it happened, we by no means sat back. The
game quickly settled into a good, hard-contested, lower division encounter, short of shots
on goal but full of battle. Both sides had no fear of hitting it long. Cambridge were able
to get into the final third without much difficulty, but once there struggled to go
further.
That was because Thomas held the defence
together. He is an excellent reader and organiser of the game, and combines this with a
ruthless determination that nothing should get past him. He would have made a good
general. Funny how easier it is to defend when you don’t have the extra defender, eh?
As a team we showed ourselves adept at handling pressure, and cleared the ball
intelligently at times. I can’t believe I’ve just written that last sentence
about a Burnley defence.
Midfield weighed in with a hefty contribution.
Johnrose was outstanding, fizzing and popping all over the place, up in attack, back in
defence, ubiquitous. After this and Millwall, I might start liking him. Meanwhile Cook was
calm and precise. If we needed a ball playing to the right man to relieve pressure, he
could do it. Mullin, dismissed by me as a lightweight every time I’ve seen him in
this incarnation, looked like he might have a purpose. So, we played it long a lot, but
these three as a unit played some great long passes. Many of the balls we played into
space were no hopeful punts, but quick pieces of thinking and vision.
The half wasn’t exactly full of match
report material. I don’t think they had a shot. A neutral would have found it short
on goalmouth action, but I don’t think neutrals should go to football matches, and it
was the kind of good battle we needed to stay warm in a cold night when the surroundings
reminded us of the fourth division days. The referee, a laid-back fellow who plainly
wasn’t interested in handing out free kicks, never mind cards, helped.
More of the same in the second half. There was
to be no repeat of the Millwall capitulation here. They pressured but couldn’t get
shots in. For us, Davis once or twice strolled forward, safe in the knowledge that Thomas
would look after the back, once unleashing a long shot of such venom that it stung the
goalkeeper’s hands and was dropped. In fact, we put in many long shots and crosses.
Their keeper looked vulnerable. Just a thought, but maybe we’d done our homework?
Crichton was once again the better of the two
goalies on the pitch. He plucked and held safely everything. Indeed, all our ten full-time
players were composed, assured and committed. Dean West, for the second game running,
proved that he is a better full-back than a wing-back, and when he is called upon merely
to defend rather than scurry forward, he can do the job. Smith, like Mullin, was having
his best game of the season, capable of taking on his man and beating him going forward
while getting back to thwart their attacks. This was encouraging, as he had looked deeply
uncomfortable in this system at Millwall. Of course, there’s still a sound case for
restoring the criminally neglected Cowan, pushing Smith up and, with Little on the other
wing, really letting rip. Suspect it might be too attacking for our leader.
Oh what the hell, even Burnley’s only part
time footballer and full time fop Graham Branch didn’t have a completely useless game
by his own low standards. He won the ball a couple of times in the air (admittedly
sometimes when it wasn’t absolutely the best thing to do, but hey, let’s not be
picky) and passed it smartly and neatly once or twice. Of course, he has perfected the art
of being second to everything, and the bad acting of his ‘nearly got that one’
grimace begins to grate after a while, but he’s had worst times. Probably will do
again.
There was more positive stuff from Cook and
Mullin, playing neatly and intelligently on the edge of the penalty area. They struggled
to find a final ball, however, due to Payton’s absence, Branch’s positional
ineptitude and Cooke’s increasing shagged-outness. It made you realise how much the
team relies on Payton’s perceptive runs and intelligent availability. In its place,
Cooke had absolute and unflinching determination. He ran himself into the ground in our
cause, and it’s sad that he will always have his critics whatever he does.
Right then when the game plan was working,
Ternent decided it was time to throw his usual allegedly tactical spanner in the works. I
wonder what the thought process behind this is? Hmm, Little’s getting a lot of the
ball and taking players on. Sometimes he will lose the ball. They might get it and have an
attack. Better take Little off and bring Mellon on.
On Mellon duly trotted. As at Millwall, this
clearly signalled the end of our intent to attack. The following knew this. Our support,
noisy in a traditional sort of way, suddenly became subdued. Worst still, the team knew
what this meant, too. They seemed to take their cue from this, and retreated. Players
backed off and went deeper, and Cambridge sensed this was their best chance and started
having a go. It quickly became clear that without Little the defence had no outlet ball.
Little had been able to hang about in the space and fight for long balls. Now they were
coming straight back at us.
For about the next ten minutes it was dicey.
They fired balls across the goal, but someone was always there with a tackle. Davis and
Thomas would get a foot in and clear, Cambridge would pick the ball up in midfield and
fire it back, Davis and Thomas would get a foot in and clear. I have long maintained that
a really good tackle is as enjoyable to watch as anything else in football, and this was
fine fare for tackle fans. It was a truly enjoyable defensive performance. Cambridge grew
once again subdued.
Mellon even had a run forward. He took the ball,
ran into the space, and chipped it delicately into the goalkeeper’s arms. A ballsless
cop out, but what did we expect? He was described elsewhere, deliciously, as an
‘oxygen thief’. My only problem with this description is that I didn’t
think of it first.
Lee replaced Branch, and he had one good dribble
where he showed some unexpected ball skills. Indeed, although this was a fast and direct
game, there were many individual cameos of skill from our players. The best was
Smith’s step over the ball and twist away that left his opponent flummoxed towards
the end. It was a moment of pure class. We could play a bit, you know.
Cambridge did that
last-minute-losing-1-0-throw-everyone-forward thing, which rarely works. Thankfully, it
didn’t here. At the end the team came over and for once their applause of an
excellent away following for this second successive southern game seemed genuine. We
departed happy with the points.
After the slip up against Brentford and the cock
up versus Scunthorpe, all agreed that the next two away games must yield four points. They
did. This win was vital. Without it, we’d have been just another side doing okay.
Thanks to it, we remain in touch with the top. If we keep playing 4-4-2, there’s no
reason why we can’t stay there.
And yes Roy, I’m sure that Cambridge have a
good attack, but they have now faced our defence.
Team: Crichton,
West, Davis, Thomas, Smith (Brass 87), Johnrose, Little (Mellon 72), Mullin, Cook, Cooke,
Branch (Lee 79). Subs not used: Armstrong, Jepson.
London Clarets Man
of the Match: (1) Steve Davis, (2) Mitchell Thomas, (3) Paul Smith.
The home game
